UNC Football Loses Disappointing Bowl Game to West Virginia

Where does UNC go from here?

North Carolina lost the Duke’s Mayo Bowl to West Virginia in a largely uncompetitive game. The first half was close, but there was not much going well enough to ever think the Tar Heels would come out on top. After quarterback Conner Harrell got hurt, the game completely changed, and the offense never recovered.

A Month Changed Nothing

The opening play was a 75-yard touchdown by West Virginia. Busted coverage allowed the Mountaineer receiver to get free. On top of that, North Carolina was only able to get one sack. The same issues that plagued the team all year continued. West Virginia ran for 164 yards and threw for 228.

It was much of the same on offense. What was Sam Howell and Drake Maye’s biggest issue? They constantly had to run for their lives, as someone was after them immediately after the ball was snapped. Last night, in his first start, Harrell was sacked seven times. He was able to show off a bit of his playmaking ability for a couple of nice runs and even had some big throws as well. Outside of a J.J. Jones touchdown and a Noah Burnette field goal, UNC couldn’t score. The ball moved well on multiple possessions, but self-inflicted problems would kill the drive.

That is the second Mayo Bowl loss in three seasons.

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